Claire Davies, a 33-year-old assistant shop manager, was appalled when she simply couldn’t squeeze herself into a size 28 wedding dress.
After a lifetime of dealing with issues related to being overweight, she decided that for her wedding she wasn’t going to take it anymore.
She went on a weight loss journey and was able to lose 140 pounds and fit into the size 12 dress she was hoping to fit into.
It all started when Claire was young. “My classmates were mean and called me ‘fatty’,” she says, “I was really shy and I turned to food for comfort. I loved junk food so it was no surprise that my weight suffered.” The problem was her diet was just full of empty calories.
“Aged 17, I weighed [224 pounds]. Every day, I ate a family bar of chocolate followed three bags of crisps,” Claire says, and she “also loved fizzy drinks and glugged three cans of full-fat [soda] each day.”
One of the low points of her life was when her college boyfriend left her for another girl, which pushed her to feel “depression,” and feelings of hatred towards her body.
Things picked up when she met Craig, who ended up marrying her. When he met her, she weighed 250 pounds, but he did not mind the weight.
However, as Claire’s relationship with Craig continued, she continued to pack on weight, eventually getting to just over 300 pounds. “I struggled to walk without losing my breath,” she recalled.
What spurred her into action was the fact that her wedding ring barely fit and her size 28 wedding dress, “couldn’t fasten … at the back.” This provided enough motivation for Claire to join her, “local gym and, twice a week, [exercise] for an hour and half.”
When the pounds melted away, she cried tears of joy. On her wedding day, she wore the size 12 dress of her dreams. “I’m just glad I got to be a stunning bride on my wedding day,” she beamed.